A patient with severe nerve pain from spinal cord compression is considering surgery to sever the nerves and relieve the pain. What should the nurse encourage the patient to consider prior to having this surgery?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Severing nerves can result in loss of motor function or paralysis, so the patient should be informed and consider this risk before deciding on surgery. The other options, such as repeating the surgery when the nerves regenerate, needing pain medication, or becoming a paraplegic, are not necessarily true for all patients undergoing this type of surgery.

A Patient with Severe Nerve Pain from Spinal Cord Compression